Insider tips: Easter Island

Jo Anne Van Tilburg is an archaeologist and Founding
Director of the Easter Island Statue Project. For three years,
she and her colleagues have been documenting each of Easter
Island's iconic giant moai. And she lectures exclusively for UK
cultural specialist The Traveller on an annual tour of the
island. We asked Jo Anne to share her best discoveries…

What's the first piece of advice you'd give
to anyone visiting Easter Island?
Don't believe everything you read! Gallons of ink have been
spilled about Easter Island's prehistory and history since it was
discovered by the Dutch in 1772, and much of it is inaccurate
or fantastical. On my tours with The Traveller we
explore many of the theories surrounding the island's mysterious
past but the group are encouraged to look at the evidence and
arrive at their own conclusions.

What makes Easter Island one not to miss?
In my opinion, it's the profound contrast between the tranquil
beauty of the landscape and the energy still embedded in the
fallen moai statues, representative of Rapa Nui's megalithic past.
The island's extreme isolation adds to its enigmatic air, too
- nowhere else on earth can you be so far from all other
land.

Which are the very best archaeological
sites?
Rano Raraku, the 'statue quarry', is a must. There, my Rapa
Nui team and I are conducting the first excavations of
monolithic statues since Thor Heyerdahl in 1954-55. Our site
is situated overlooking the lake at the interior of the quarry, and
all visitors are very welcome. When visiting the sites, I recommend
using local Rapa Nui guides, as their insight is invaluable.
Our Traveller groups are accompanied by my co-director at the
Easter Island Statue Project, Cristian Arevalo Pakarati, who is
local Rapa Nui. Cristian is also a direct descendant of Juan
Tepano, who worked with Katherine Routledge, a pioneering Edwardian
archaeologist who was the first woman ever to conduct field work on
Easter Island and in the Pacific, in 1914.

How can you miss the crowds?
Nearly all organized tours on Easter Island operate on a half-day
and full-day basis out of the only settlement, Hanga Roa, and
generally all follow one another in an anti-clockwise
direction around the island. Our tours travel around in the
opposite direction, which usually means we have the sites to
ourselves and can enjoy them without the larger tour
buses.

When is the best time to visit Easter Island?
The austral spring and fall seasons are the best times:
temperatures are warm (early 20˚Cs) without being too hot, and it
is generally dry.

What can the adventurous explore on the island?
There are marked hiking and climbing trails of real beauty -
especially good are the two-hour climb up the dormant Orongo
volcano (a key statue site awaits on the crater rim) and the
coastal path around Easter Island's north-west, on which you'll
pass numerous statues, fallen to the ground. Another exciting
adventure option is guided diving: you can see a submerged moai
near Hanga Roa, or journey out to Motu Nui for a deep dive with
visibility as good as anywhere in the world.

For more information on Jo Anne's annual tour with The
Traveller call 020 7269 2770 or visit www.the-traveller.co.uk